Soundtrack of the Week – Pulp Fiction

“…Having Misirlou as your opening credits, it’s just so intense, you know… it just says ‘you’re watching an epic!'”

 

Being a big Tarantino fan, I obviously had to feature this soundtrack at some point. The perfect combination of surfer-rock, soul and rock’n’roll – Pulp Fiction’s soundtrack is probably Tarantino’s most well-known. Who listens to ‘Misirlou’ and doesn’t immediately think of the title sequence? In an interview included on special editions of the soundtrack, Tarantino revealed that he compiles a soundtrack by rooting through his record collection after thinking of an initial idea for a story line. He also mentioned that he always envisioned a scene with an attractive enigmatic female lead to the sound of Dusty Springfield’s ‘Son of a Preacher Man’, and the audiences’ introduction to Mia Wallace is the perfect application of this idea. Springfield’s song sets the female protagonist up as a seductive, mysterious and downright cool lady without even showing her face.

Every song in this soundtrack has its place, from Vincent Vega’s drug-induced cruise to the Centurians’ ‘Bullwinkle Part 2’ to Butch getting revenge to ‘Comanche’ by the Revels, perfectly blending genres to create an overall impression of ‘cool’ for its audience. The first time I saw this film – I felt so cool, and I’m sure many other people did too. The soundtrack is the ideal way of prolonging that lasting nostalgic sensation.

My personal favourite is a track that is not featured on the standard editions, but can be found on special editions. It’s played after ‘Lonesome Town’ by Rick Nelson in the Jack Rabbit Slims scene and adds another layer to the relationship – that never was – between Vincent and Mia, making a little bit more romantic and lusting, as well as introducing me to the soulful R&B of the Robins.

 

TFDJ